Iran Resumes Gas Supply to Turkey

Iran resumed supply of natural gas to Turkey on Monday, a week after an explosion on Turkish territories damaged the two countries pipeline and stopped gas flow.

Last Monday, Iran halted gas exports to Turkey after a blast damaged the pipeline in the Turkish territories. The explosion occurred near the town of Dogubayazit in the Agri province on Sunday.

Turkish officials accused members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of blowing up the pipeline.

Iran exports a daily volume of 30 million cm or an annual volume of 10 billion cm of gas to Turkey.

Later, some western media claimed that the halt in Iran's gas supply was the result of Ankara's new decision for lowering energy imports from Tehran.

In response, Chairman of the Iranian parliament's Energy Commission Massoud Mir-Kazzemi said there was no change in Tehran's policy for exporting gas to Turkey and exports to this country would be resumed soon.

"The explosion that took place is the result of the political disputes in Turkey and the opposition groups commit these acts against Turkey. However, there is no disagreement between Tehran and Ankara," Mirkazemi added.

He went on to say that explosions in Iran-Turkey gas pipeline, which occur several times a year, are due to political issues in Turkey and have nothing to do with the Islamic Republic.

The gas contract was signed 1996 between the two countries over annual export of 10 billion cm for 25 years.